James Milton's T20 Blast tournament betting preview, free tips & TV details

Tournament starts 6.15pm Thursday

TV match starts 7pm Thursday, Sky Sports Cricket

Cricket is hoping to cash in on the feelgood factor from England’s stunning World Cup victory over New Zealand and the T20 Blast should keep fans of the sport – both new and old – entertained until the start of the Ashes.

The Blast is likely to be overshadowed by The Hundred, a new Twenty20 competition, next summer but for now it is the only show in town.

Stars including AB de Villiers, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Rashid Khan, Imran Tahir and Babar Azam will be in action and it’s 7-1 the field in a compelling betting heat.

Best bet Sussex 9-1
Sussex Sharks won’t be short of motivation after losing last year’s Blast final to Worcestershire, suffering a group-stage exit in the One-Day Cup, and struggling in the County Championship second division.

But a change of format could be just the lift Sussex need and, as they proved last year, their squad is well suited to Twenty20 cricket.

World Cup hero Jofra Archer, who took 22 wickets in the Blast last term, may not be available much this year – Betway make him 1-10 to be in England’s squad for the first Ashes Test.

However, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills are dynamic T20 pacemen while Afghan superstar Rashid Khan leads a classy spin attack featuring Danny Briggs and Will Beer.

Sussex’s batting has been bolstered by the signing of Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey, who had a magnificent World Cup with the bat and opens for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash.

Laurie Evans was the leading runscorer in the Blast last year, veteran Luke Wright is now fully focused on white-ball cricket, and youngster Phil Salt is a dashing opener who was called up to the England squad for May’s T20 clash with Pakistan.

Salt scored 355 runs at a strike-rate of 172 in last year’s Blast and there should be more to come from him and fellow youngster Delray Rawlins, who hit 203 runs from 139 balls in nine 2018 appearances.

Former South Africa all-rounder David Wiese has rediscovered his batting form this summer, most notably in an amazing 171 off 126 balls against Hampshire in the One-Day Cup.

Sussex won seven of their ten completed games in the South Group last year before thumping a talented Somerset side by 35 runs in the semi-finals and they look serious contenders once again.

Next best Durham 25-1
Further down the betting, Durham Lions merit support at 25-1, having finished second in the North Group last season – level on points with champions Worcestershire.

England World Cup winners and Ashes Test players Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are unlikely to play major roles but Durham’s Antipodean brains trust – director of cricket Marcus North and coach James Franklin – has overseen some impressive progress.

Skipper and Australia international Cameron Bancroft has led Durham to four wins and two draws in their last six Championship matches in Division Two.

They narrowly missed out on qualification for the One-Day Cup knockout stages, winning four of their six completed games and reaching 182-2 in their final fixture against Yorkshire before rain ruined their chances of a vital victory.

New Zealand’s Tom Latham proved an excellent signing in last year’s Blast but Australia opener D’Arcy Short could do even better.

The hard-hitting left-hander has a superb Big Bash record for Hobart Hurricanes, scoring 1,402 runs in 34 innings including the highest score in the tournament’s history: 122 not out off 69 balls against Brisbane Heat in 2018.

He was player of the tournament in this year’s Bash and his match-winning batting could turn an underrated Durham side into trophy challengers.

Graham Clark passed 400 runs in last season’s Blast, Australian bowler Nathan Rimmington – signed on a British passport – was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the competition, and all-rounder Ben Raine provides great balance to the side.

Main dangers
As the betting suggests, the battle for the Blast is wide open and Somerset, with Pakistan star Babar Azam anchoring their batting, are a tempting 12-1 to follow up their One-Day Cup success in May.

Nottinghamshire and Hampshire are prominent in the betting but may have been priced up on former glories while Surrey’s chances would be seriously dented by Ashes call-ups for Jason Roy and Aaron Finch.

Lancashire, who lost to Worcestershire in the 2018 semis, are respected with Aussie pair Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner in their ranks although Liam Livingstone’s injury is a major blow.

Middlesex’s batting could be special if AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Paul Stirling and Dawid Malan come out firing but defending champions Worcestershire are short enough at 16-1 to retain their crown.

Specials
Tipping a 20-year-old with just three Twenty20 innings on his CV to be the Blast’s top runscorer might seem like a colossal leap of faith but Somerset’s Tom Banton is no ordinary youngster.

The tall right-hander’s batting style has been compared to that of Alex Hales and his performances in the One-Day Cup suggest he could make a huge impact in the Twenty20 format too.

Banton’s last three innings in the 50-over tournament were 112 against Worcestershire, 59 against Nottinghamshire in the semi-final and 69 – the joint-highest score of the match – in the final victory over Hampshire at Lord’s.

Playing home games at Taunton is always a boost for a big-hitting batsman and the 40-1 available about Banton may underrate his enormous potential.

Club bowlers in the Somerset area know all about the youngster – he struck 94 off 41 deliveries and then a 12-ball half-century for Taunton St Andrew’s in T20 games in May – and even county attacks could struggle to contain him.

Recommendations
Sussex to win T20 Blast
2pts 8-1 bet365
Back this bet with bet365

Durham to win T20 Blast
1pt each-way 25-1 general
Back this bet with Paddy Power

T Banton top tournament runscorer
1pt each-way 40-1 bet365, Betfair
Back this bet with bet365

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